Sharon Graham May Have No Pride But We Call on Unite Delegates To Let Starmer Know What Members Think of This ‘Real’ Conservative
Sharon Graham’s
election in August 2021 was greeted with relief by most of the left, especially
as the scab
candidate of the Scum, Gerard Coyne, came third.
Unfortunately Sharon
Graham has proved a big disappointment. It was revealed last December that Jack
Clarke, Graham’s husband had been appointedHead of Bargaining and Dispute Support in
Graham’s office without the approval of the National Executive Committee.
Sharon Graham has refused to deny this story let alone intervene with West Midland's region where 3 members made this decision to support a scab
This
clearly smacked of nepotism, yet the response of Unite’s press office to Skwawkbox
was to refuse to deny the report.
It was
then revealed
that complaints of bullying and threats of violence against other staff members
by Clarke had been covered up
Unite has
declined to deny reports that Unite’ general secretary’s Sharon Graham tried,
before she became the union’s general secretary, to have evidence against her
husband destroyed – or to answer questions as to whether the evidence was in
fact destroyed after she took up the General Secretary position.
It
was then revealed
that Brendan Ogle of Unite Ireland region, had been victimised after he returned
to work after treatment for cancer, because he didn’t support Graham in the
election for General Secretary. The Irish Examiner reported that:
Brendan Ogle, who is the effective head of the
Unite union in Ireland, claims he was urged to take a more junior role in the
organisation that would necessitate a 100 mile daily commute. Following
discussions with Unite, he continues to work in Dublin with the same title and
pay he held prior to his illness.
… he is
being excluded from his organisational role in Right To Water, the group he set
up through the union to campaign for a referendum on the public ownership of
the water infrastructure….
“He was told that was coming from head office
in London. The only thing that has changed while he was out sick was the
leadership in London where a new general secretary was elected,”….
Mr Ogle has been a leading figure
in the trade union movement for over 20 years since he was general secretary of
the Irish Locomotive Drivers Association, where he organised a rail strike in
2000. He was also the head of the ESB group of unions prior to joining Unite.
Why is Unite inviting a 'real Conservative' to its conference?
The invitation to Starmer,
who has refused to support workers in struggle – be they nurses, train drivers,
teachers or post workers, is an insult to Unite members. Starmer is a
neo-liberal who has torn up the 10
Pledges that he made at the time of his election. as Labour leader. As
Jenny Chapman admitted
he said what was need to get elected rather than what he believed in.
Pledge
No. 5 that ‘Public services should be
in public hands’ and to ‘end
outsourcing in our NHS, local government and justice system.’ This has been
discarded. Instead West Streeting has announced
that private sector involvement in the NHS will increase.
The
film Jeremy Corbyn – The Big Lie has
been banned
from Unite premises at the behest
of Starmer and his supporters. On 5th July Sarah Carpenter, Regional
Secretary of Unite SE wrote informing me that:
After careful consideration by
senior union officials, the decision taken [to ban the film Corbyn the Big Lie]
was grounded in our focus to prioritise resources to fight for members pay, terms
and conditions and issues facing our local communities.
It was of course a lie. The
decision had nothing to do with prioritising resources. Carpenter went on to
inform me that under Rule 17.3 of the rule book our branch was forbidden from
making a £250 donation to Platform Films, who produced the film,
despite them having made films for trade unions for years, including theT&G Story, a
history of the T&GWU, which was the precursor of Unite.
Tony
Benn wrote that:
“By
making these brilliant films over the years, Platform has filled a gap that is
so obvious in the media – that it doesn’t cover labour and progressive causes
properly.”
And
Bob Crowe likewise said that:
“RMT is
proud to be associated with a film company that unashamedly knows which side it
is on, and is carrying the tradition of gutsy, agitprop, socialist film-making
to a new generation in the 21st century.”
But for the right-wing
bureaucrats who have taken over Unite, none of this counts. As Sharon Graham cosies
up to Keir Starmer the Corbyn era is wiped from memory and workers rights are
abandoned.
Only
this week Keith Ewing and John Hendy QC wrote an article
for Tribune ‘Is Labour Backsliding on Workers’ Rights?’ They wrote:
Labour has
quietly dropped key policies to guarantee basic rights and protections at work
and strengthen trade unions – a U-turn that would harm millions of the
country's most exploited workers.
Starmer is a
neo-liberal, a racist and a ‘Zionist
without qualification’. But for the right-wing Graham, none of this is stopping
her wooing Starmer despite his anti-trade union policies, his warmongering,
racism and chauvinism and his hostility to basic civil liberties and the right
to protest.
The invitation to
Starmer is the final straw. Many on the left like the SWP and the Socialist
Party made the mistake of backing Graham in the General Secretary elections.
Her support for industrial action blinded them to her right-wing stance on
everything else. e.g. Unite’s support
for increased military expenditure at the TUC Conference.
The latest scandal is Graham’s
refusal
to deny the claim
of Gerard Coyne that Unite backs him as the candidate for the parliamentary seat
of West Bromwich East. Members who
have written to Unite have not received any denial.
This is why we must
demonstrate outside Unite’s conference tomorrow. We refuse to allow the union
to be taken over by Starmer’s lackeys and a self-serving and nepotistic
leadership.
Tony Greenstein